Photo credit MIKASI
By Jodi Diedrich

To say that Mary Gardinier enjoys teaching fitness classes is to say Cookie Monster enjoys the occasional cookie. Cookie Monster loooooooves cookies and Mary loooooooves helping people meet their fitness goals. You know it from the moment you walk in the door at JAM Fitness. The music is loud, almost alive. Bodies in bright pinks and sweaty grays take up every inch of the floor. Moving to the beat, they do their best to mimic Mary’s moves as she brings the room to life. Like a drill sergeant, she orders her troops who respond with weary smiles and a little more speed or a little more lift or a little more of whatever she’s asking for. Soon, the music goes down and the class heads outside for a run. Jen Lindsey, another instructor at JAM, explains that they will either go around the condos (three times around is a mile, she says) or around a nearby parking garage where they can find hills to climb.

When they return from their run, someone opens a closet and hands out mats. One might think they are going to do a little cool down and go home, but no, there is more. Nikes, Reeboks and Sketchers go up into the air, and Mary, sounding more like a cheerleader now, encourages them. Love it! Party with me! Eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. Again! Eight, seven six…and so on. Amazingly, when the last ‘one more time’ has been said and everyone has put their mats away for another day, nobody hurries out the door. Instead, people hang back to catch up, conversing about work and life and coming back next time.

Mary is a life-long resident of Kenosha. She’s worked as a fitness instructor for twenty-five years at various places, including the YMCA, the Kenosha Athletic Center, and the Racquetball Club (no longer in business). For a time, she also worked as a sales person at Peterbilt. It was being laid off from Peterbilt that gave her the opportunity to get more involved in fitness training. For a while, her classes were informal, held in her garage, but eventually, her group outgrew the space and she knew she had to find a bigger location.
President of JAM Fitness is Mary’s husband, Jason. He handles the financial aspect of the business while Mary and Jen Lindsey manage the fitness programs, tailoring them to fit their members’ needs. Aside from her and Jen, there are six others instructors who teach a variety of classes, including yoga, kickboxing, weight training, and fitness/exercise programs. All JAM’s instructors, Mary, Jen, Ashley, Jason, Debbie, Pam, Niki and Theresa, schedule their classes to accommodate members’ needs. It is this commitment to meeting members’ needs that makes JAM Fitness different from other programs in the area. Mary also credits JAM’s success to Jen Vargas, the graphic designer who assisted with the creative aspects of building the business, including creating their logo.

Having grown up in Kenosha, Mary is fiercely loyal to the area and its residents. When asked what was good about Kenosha, she was quick to applaud the pioneer spirit of the people in her downtown community. The people who open businesses downtown are great people, she said, who are willing to work together to build it up, to make it a better place. When asked if there were things she thought were not so great in Kenosha, it took her a while to come up with any kind of response. Finally, she said she would like to see more effort put into attracting visitors to the lakeshore. She also hopes some of the older buildings that are abandoned will be refurbished and made available to others interested in starting businesses in the downtown area.

During the interview, Mary was quick to reiterate the old adage, ‘there is no I in me’. Although she was happy to report that the recession has had little effect on her business, she made it very clear that any success she and JAM Fitness have experienced is due to a combined effort. Not only is she grateful to her husband and JAM’s employees for their hard work, she is also grateful to the students who bring their can-do spirit to JAM, and to the other business owners with whom she shares the vision of an ever-thriving downtown Kenosha.

Jodi Diderrich received a BS in Elementary Education from UW-Whitewater in 1996 and has since worked as a teacher at a number of Kenosha schools. Most recently she has been working for St. Mary Elementary School in Kenosha as a part-time middle school language arts teacher. In her spare time, she writes stories and articles, takes photos, gardens, tutors for the Kenosha Literacy Council, and hangs out with her husband and
two dogs.

By Meica Hatters

In an effort to show the beauty of the past and celebrate the new, Tori and her mother Norma opened Embellished Hearts. Located at 724-58th St., Tori used her artistic flair to transform her store from an eclectic women’s clothing store into a visually appealing artistic store. Embellished Hearts gives visitors a glimpse into the past through antiques and embraces the present through artistically inspired refinished furniture and accents created by her and local artists. Tori believes that a person cannot move forward without celebrating the past. She hopes that Kenosha residents will begin to cherish downtown and encourages its grow in the future.

Tori first fell in love with Kenosha’s beautifully crafted buildings and calm pace which she says encourage you to stop and enjoy life. Coming from a more corporate environment, Tori appreciates the historic community feeling and hopes to contribute.

Tori’s appreciation for Kenosha’s Downtown transformation was echoed by the owners of two other new stores. Kelly, the owner of Seat Yourself, echoed the want of Downtown’s transformation. She’d like to see Kenosha’s downtown as her mother described it to her — busy with people and full of places to shop.

Seat Yourself, located at 5721 6th Ave, offers a variety of affordable, like new, used furniture. From the end tables to their living room sets, all of the future at Seat Yourself would be amazing additions to any home. The only way to tell that the items are used is by their affordability. Kelly’s goal is to offer quality used furniture at a reasonable price and keep these items out of landfills. Her purpose is more sentimental. The store, as it is today, was her father’s dream and she is proud to carry out that dream and provide the community with an alternative to high price, big box furniture stores.

Not far from Seat Yourself, Joyce Marie (the creative mind) and Krista (the business mind) conceptualized Paperazzi 20 years ago. Back then it was a pet boutique in a struggling city in Illinois. Since then Joyce Marie moved to Pleasant Prairie and fell in love with graphic design. Krista also moved to the Kenosha Area and developed a fondness for project management.

Paperazzi is a full service paper store offering stationary, greeting cards (traditional and “offbeat”), as well as a small selection of scrapbooking materials and books. Joyce Marie is also proud to offer onsite printing services. She can customize stationary for your everyday communication needs and she’s ecstatic to be able to print special occasion invitations. Krista and Joyce also hope to offer work areas for artists interested in creating their own cards, scrapbook pages, and meeting other artists.

Krista and Joyce, like the other store owners, had the option to open up in one of the new strip malls popping up in Kenosha County. They barely considered it. Both watched other cities go through similar life cycles as Kenosha has, and they believe this downtown has potential and hope to be a part of the growth.

It is beautiful to watch Kenosha grow and welcome three new stores to their community. Tori, Norma, Kelly, Krista, and Joyce all hope their stores will contribute to the sense of community and encourage other stores to open up around them. Each store owner described their business, to some extent, as a “labor of love.” They are examples of the love for beauty and a passion for the community that is contributing to Kenosha’s Downtown.

Meica Hatters graduated from the University of Wisconsin Whitewater in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. Since then she’s enjoyed exploring her interest in writing and community involvement.

Reminder: this Saturday, the 11th, is a full one in downtown Kenosha.

Second Saturday will begin at 6 p.m. and features art gallery receptions at locations like Pollard Gallery and Lemon Street Gallery. Twilight Market, full of vendors and fresh fall produce, will begin at 4 p.m. on 6th Ave – music, food, and entertainment are always part of the festivities. One block over, on 7th Ave, is Arts on the Avenue where artists display their work and do live demonstrations. There’s usually some drumming and belly dancing, as well as vendors and music. Stores in the downtown area remain open for these events and the whole thing makes for a pleasant evening stroll with plenty of free sights and sounds, as well as some good food, art, and produce.

See you there!

By Sara Rae Lancaster

Mother. Chef. Driver. Cleaner. Laundress. Teacher. Playmate. Caretaker. These are just a few of the hats mothers everywhere put on, take off, and put on again during the course of a single day. Add to that another hat many moms are wearing today: entrepreneur.

Melissa Hua, owner of Fluent Language Services in Kenosha, is among this group of mom business owners. In June, Fluent Language Center opened its doors, offering children ages 3 to 10 immersion language classes in Mandarin, French and Spanish.

Fluent in French, Hua has eight years experience teaching language to children and knows firsthand how much easier it is to learn another language at a younger age.

The desire to have her own children, Henry, age 10, Hannah, age 8, Samuel, age 6, Sadie, age 3, and Emma, age 2, learn a foreign language through the immersion method was part of her drive to open Fluent Language Services.

“Part of the reason I started this was because I really wanted my own children to learn another language,” Hau said. “Knowing another language opens up so many doors of opportunity for them when they’re older. It also makes them aware that there are other languages and cultures out there. It gives them a more global perspective.”

But the key, Hua said, to keeping kids motivated enough to continue learning a language during these formative years is making the learning process fun.

“If the classes are not fun, we’re not doing something right,” Hua said.

The environment Hua’s created at the center encourages children to learn through play and social interaction.

“We use a lot of songs and poems and stories,” said Hau, who recently used the popular Eric Carle book The Very Hungry Caterpillar to teach her French students colors, numbers and food. “If children can learn their letters, numbers, and the basics, and have it be fun, well, that’s the key.”

Hua was pleased to receive such positive feedback from the summer sessions’ students and their parents. But that’s not to say the business’ initial success came without some challenges.

“The biggest challenge has probably been organizing the curriculum so each language is on the same page and the content matches,” Hua said.

Marketing was the second biggest challenge. Thankfully, Hua is able to draw upon her experience as a realtor to help her meet these marketing challenges.

Juggling the roles of motherhood and businesswoman isn’t new for Hua. After the birth of her first child, Hua left her job at a translation agency to sell real estate because it offered greater flexibility and the ability to work her job around her family.

While selling real estate isn’t her main focus these days, she still retains her license and relies on her agency, Blondie Realty, as another income source. Hua said having multiple streams of revenue is part of the reason she is able to maintain an entrepreneurial lifestyle.

“What’s worked for me is to have a couple things going on at the same time,” Hua said. “To the outsider, it might seem like, ‘How do you do that?’ But what you have to realize is you’re not doing all projects at the same time.”

In fact some of the best business lessons Hua’s learned have come from those ventures that weren’t so advantageous, financially speaking.

After getting into real estate, Hua and her husband Binh opened Juice and Jitters, a coffeehouse once located on 7th Avenue that she says was “completely ahead of its time for the area.”

In the end, the business wasn’t profitable, which taught Hua an invaluable lesson she thinks any woman wanting to strike out on her own should keep in mind. “Just because you’re opening a business doesn’t mean you’re going to make money,” she said.

However, Hua cautions not to dismiss the value in the experience itself. She’s very thankful for the many lessons learned while cutting her entrepreneurial teeth.

“You learn about all the nitty-gritty things that make a business work,” she said. “Permits, licenses, taxes… all of it gives you a whole new way of looking at other small businesses because you know what they’re going through.”

One thing she is doing differently with Fluent Language Services is not spending too much time on the planning stage — instead she’s jumping right in.

“Don’t get me wrong, you need to have a goal and you need to have benchmarks. But do you really need the letterhead and business cards and a formalized plan and everything in place?” she said. “You could spend all your time planning and never get around to opening your doors.”

She also advises other mom business owners to not be afraid of failure.
“When you fail, you learn. You’re not going to get anywhere in life if you don’t fail,” she said.

But to find real success in being a “mompreneuer,” one has to find balance. Hau strikes that happy medium between work and family by putting family first.

“Work your work schedule around them,” Hau said, and the balance will follow. “If you’re up to midnight or 1 a.m. that’s OK because you spent time with your family first. And if you don’t finish all your work that day or night, that’s OK too. You can finish it tomorrow or next week, but you can’t get that time back with your kids.”

For information about Fluent Language Services fall classes visit www.fluentlanguageservices.com or call (262) 654-1700.

By Celia Schulz

“A Summer’s Garden, how may I help you today?” asks her husband in a sweet voice. Interviewing Lyna Postuchow, co-owner and operator of A Summer’s Garden Floral Shop in downtown Kenosha was a delightful experience. Lyna agreed to being interviewed but had to postpone because of a busy schedule including two weddings and the start of school, a special occasion for teachers and other educators to start off the school year with a special gifts. I almost let it go because schedules weren’t going coinciding, but when I passed the shop on 6th Avenue, the brilliant array of flowers in the window called to me!

It was an unexpected surprise to learn the couple, Lyna and Kevin Postuchow, found each other while employed by another florist, Angelo’s, also in downtown Kenosha, more than fourteen years ago. Knowing she was tiring of her bank job, a friend told Lyna of an opening working the counter at Angelo’s. Unknowingly, she would meet her husband to be, an experienced florist who trained at the American Institute of Floral Arts in Chicago and worked in the industry many years. He was also her boss. I asked, kind of kidding, if there was a garden wedding and who did the flowers! Historic Kemper Center was the wedding location and Kevin grew some of the plants to decorate the high ceilinged Center. Kevin also created “The” bouquet which was his special gift to his bride. Lyna was not allowed to see her bouquet until the wedding began. She was endeared with the anticipation and beauty of that special arrangement. Almost all the shop was either in the wedding party, a part of preparing arrangements for the wedding, or both! And all were a part of the “Secret Bouquet”.

They both talked about their experiences with schooling in Chicago. The course is accelerated into three weeks of intense training. Kevin remembered training alongside Japanese and Chinese students who came to the US for this highly acclaimed program. Lyna remembered braving the Metra and the mile and a half walk on Wacker Drive to a risky “edge” of Chicago; long hours of schooling followed by working all week-end.

A Summer’s Garden was purchased by the couple July 1st, 2008. The first order of business was painting, a feat which must have been memorable as Lyna mentioned this immediately. “We bought the store and closed it up for two days to paint and open new on July 4th.”

I stole the opportunity to browse the shop while Lyna took a call and Kevin ordered baskets from a merchant salesperson. A display of wicker baskets of various sizes and uses surrounded a trickling fountain. The midsection had a faux fireplace bordered with a display of Lilli Soapworks candles and soaps that revealed to be Lyna’s second business: homemade soaps and lotions! I wanted to know more and anticipate another visit to browse for gifts for a special occasion. Their lovely daughter Lilli is the moniker of the line of candles! When Kevin gave me their daughter’s name and the spelling, I said “that’s the name of the candles,” “yes,” he confirmed, “Lilli Soapworks, Lilli Scents and Lilli Lotions.” I love it! Another pleasant surprise. It’s just one more shoot from the root of this family that ties together who they are and what they do. Create…. Creative….. Creations from the heart.

As far as family businesses go, it seems they have it all running smoothly from after school snacks in the back fridge to TV and a homework corner waiting for their first grader. Mom does have to juggle school pick up and drop off times to coincide with flower deliveries. Usually all goes well but there can be an occasional time crunch.

Lyna, although a native to Kenosha, has few relatives and none of which can take over running shop when someone is ill. They both laughed remembering a time when they took turns laying their heads on the counter in misery during illness. Someone has to be in the store at all times and they have never and do not plan to not be available to their customers with a ‘be right back’ sign. Holidays get hectic and Lyna’s older son, Alex, also helps with deliveries. I laughed because Kevin seemed like the “books” person but that is actually for Lyna to do. “That reminds me – sales tax is due today,” she said, her memory jogged.

Together their knowledge and experience will prompt me to seek them out or recommend their floral services. A Summer’s Garden not only walk-in services but includes a comprehensive website where anyone can order from. Teleflora services are also provided.

Now, since parochial school had started the week before, I didn’t actually get to meet the lovely Lilli! That is going to call for another interview!

In this issue:

• Sunbursts Along The Lake
• A Beautiful Place With Beautiful People
• A Canvas For Creativity
• Heart of Our Community
• Twilight Market
• Southport Press
• Business Directory
• District Map
• Schedule Of Events
• Our KUPP is Half Full

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